Clifton McNeil
| No. 85, 18, 86 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | May 25, 1939 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | December 21, 2025 (aged 86) | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 187 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College | Grambling State (1961-1962) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1962: 11th round, 151st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Clifton Anthony McNeil (May 25, 1939 – December 21, 2025) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 through 1973. He played college football for the Grambling State Tigers[1] and was selected by the Cleveland Browns[2] in the eleventh round in the 1962 NFL draft.[3] He played with the Browns for four seasons before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1968 for a draft pick. McNeil acquired a number of nicknames on the field, including Sticks, Spider, Road Runner and Night Train, for his slim build and speed.[4]
With the 49ers in 1968, he led the NFL in receptions with 71, accounting for 994 yards and seven touchdowns and was selected to the Pro Bowl. After a disappointing 1969 season he went to the New York Giants where he caught 50 passes for 764 yards and four touchdowns before finishing his career with the Washington Redskins and the Houston Oilers.
McNeil died on December 21, 2025, at the age of 86.[5]
NFL career statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1964 | CLE | 14 | 0 | 4 | 69 | 17.3 | 28 | 1 |
| 1965 | CLE | 13 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 23.0 | 32 | 0 |
| 1966 | CLE | 14 | 0 | 2 | 94 | 47.0 | 50 | 2 |
| 1967 | CLE | 2 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 23 | 2 |
| 1968 | SFO | 14 | 14 | 71 | 994 | 14.0 | 65 | 7 |
| 1969 | SFO | 11 | 7 | 17 | 255 | 15.0 | 80 | 3 |
| 1970 | NYG | 14 | 14 | 50 | 764 | 15.3 | 59 | 4 |
| 1971 | NYG | 6 | 6 | 16 | 209 | 13.1 | 24 | 1 |
| WAS | 8 | 1 | 14 | 244 | 17.4 | 36 | 2 | |
| 1972 | WAS | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | HOU | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Career | 105 | 42 | 181 | 2,734 | 15.1 | 80 | 22 | |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Last Year for the Big Bonus Babies". Ebony (Magazine). Johnson Publishing Company. November 1966. p. 124.
- ↑ "Little Grambling Produces Pro Football Stars En Masse". Ebony (Magazine). Johnson Publishing Company. October 1965. pp. 58–61.
- ↑ "1962 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
- ↑ Football Register. Sporting News. 1969. p. 209.
- ↑ Clifton McNeil, Jr.
 | This biographical article relating to an American football wide receiver born in the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
- 1939 births
- 2025 deaths
- Players of American football from Mobile, Alabama
- American football wide receivers
- Cleveland Browns players
- San Francisco 49ers players
- New York Giants players
- Washington Redskins players
- Houston Oilers players
- Western Conference Pro Bowl players
- Grambling State Tigers football players
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American football wide receiver, 1940s birth stubs